Portable ice rink



Dec. 12, 1961 D. s. sKoLouT 3,012,596

PORTABLE ICE.' RINK Filed March 15. 1959 y 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR: DANIEL S. ASKOLOUT,

ATTORNEYS Dec. 12, 1961 Filed March 15'. 1959 D. S. SKOLOUT PORTABLE ICE RINK 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 III/I7 [/IIII I I/I I IA [Il I INVENTOR DANIEL S. SKOLOUT,

ATTORNEYS.

United States atent O 3,012,596 PORTABLE ICE RINK Daniel S. Skolout, 2526 Fairfax St., Denver 7, Colo. Filed Mar. 13, 1959, Ser. No. 799,376 3 Claims. (Cl. ISO-.5)

My invention relates to portable apparatus for facilitating the building of natural ice skating links and the like.

Many persons have constructed ice skating rinks by flooding at areas of their yards or gardens so that lice is formed to provide a skating yarea during winter weather. The loss of water during thaws aswell as the diiculty and discomfort encountered in the flooding procedure have led to various proposals for facilitating the preparation and flooding of backyard ice rink areas. It is an object of my invention to provide improved portable equipment for facilitating the preparation and freezing of backyard skating rinks and the like.

It is another object of my invention to provide an improved portable equipment for ice skating rinks which is highly flexible as to the shape and size of the area to be flooded.

It is a further object of this invention to provide portable structure for ice rinks including an improved arrangement for assembling the retaining wall thereof and for covering an area with a waterproof material.

Briefly, in carrying out the objects of this invention in one embodiment thereof a water retaining assembly for the construction of ice rinks is formed which comprises a length of flexible wall or tube member made of extruded plastic material. The tube is formed to have an elongated rectangular cross section so that at faces are available for engagement with surfaces such as asphaltpavement or concrete. A connecting device is provided for holding the abutting ends of the wall in engagement. lFor installations Where it is desirable to provide a Waterproof container within the wall, a sheet of plastic material is provided to tit the area and to extend beyond the wall and a plurality of clips are provided to be spaced along the wall and having outwardly extending feet which, when the clip is in position, lie substantially in the plane of the bottom of the wall and serve to retain vthe'plastic in its desired position and also to hold the wall upright, the clips being used for this latter purpose whether or not the waterproof sheet is employed. Walls of increased height may be constructed by placing two of the wall sections one on top ofthe other and bonding them together with a suitable cement such as liquid latex.

Further objects and advantages of my invention will bel come apparent as the following description proceeds and the features of novelty which characterize the invention will be pointed out with particularity in the claims anneXed to and forming a part of this specication.

For a better understanding of the invention, reference may be had to the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. l is a top plan view partly broken away of an ice rink formed with the equipment embodying my invention;

FIG. 2 is an enlarged sectional view along the line 2-2 of FiG. l; n

FlG. 3 lis an enlarged elevation view partly in section showing a retaining wail joint of the equipment of FIG. l;

FIG. 4 is an enlarged sectional elevation view along the line 4--4 of FIG. 3; f

FIG. 5 is a view similar to FIG. 3 showing a modied form of joint; A

FIG. 6 'is a sectional view along the line 6 6 of FIG. 5;

FIG. 7 is a perspective view of an angle bracket ernployed in equipment embodying the invention;

FIG. 8 is a sectional elevation View along the line SMS of FIG. 7; and

FIG. 9 is a view of another modification of the invention wherein two wall sections are employed.

Fice

Referring now to the drawings, the ice rink in FIG. 1

holds a iiat sheet of ice 10 which has been shown broken f away to expose the top surface of a sheet of plastic material 11 which lies over a wall 12 and retains the water'in position before it is frozen. When the ice rink is to be constructed, a length of tubing from which the wall 12 is made is lirst extended about the area to be used, the ends are joined by a connector 13, and a sheet of plastic material 11 is then placed over the entire wall and pressed into position snugly about the wall so that it extends in substantial engagement with the bottom of the wall, whereupon it may be held in position by a plurality of vclips 14 at spaced intervals about the structure which hold the plastic sheet against the ground, concrete or other supporting' surface and in close engagement with the wall. The plastic sheets normally are supplied in rectangular form, and when a circular-ended ring of the type indicated in FIG. 1 is to be constructed, the corners of the plastic sheet are preferably cut off from the original rectangular form indicated generally by the dotted lines at 15. The plastic preferably is cut sufficiently large to extend three or four inches outside the wall. v v I As shown in FIG. 2, the wall 12 is made to have an elongated rectangular cross section and may have one or more cross partitions 16 to maintain the cross-sectional shape. As shown in FIG. 2, the ice 10 is frozen within the area defined by the wall 12 and plastic cover 11 which rests on the ground or other surface indicated generally at 17. The clip 14 is made to lit the contour of the wall so that it will hold the plastic sheet close to the Wall and so that the outer and inner feet of the clip indicated at 18 and 19, respectively, may hold the sheet adjacent the ground.

The wall 12 may be made by extruding plastic or other suitable material in the desired cross-sectional form and provides a -wall which is readily bendable but has sufficient stiffness to retain its upright position after the interior area has been lled with water. This construction affords ready bending of the wall to the desired shape and the clips 14 facilitate the holding of the wall in the selected shape without tipping of the wall, as many of the clips being employed as are desirable t-o hold the wall upright during formation of the ice sheet. Y

When a waterproof surface such as concrete or asphalt pavement is available for the ice rink, it is not necessary to employ'the plastic sheet 10, and the wall 12 may be bonded directly to the concrete or asphalt by a suitable material such as liquid latex, the clips in this -case being employed to hold the wall upright wherever there may be a tendency for it to tip due to the configuration of the rink.

The ends of the tubing wall 12 `are held together by the connection 13 which provides a strong and reliable joint as self-tapping screws 21.

yet is easily assembled. The connection 13 as shownl in FIGS. 3 and 4 comprises a tubular member or sleeve 20 of rectangular `cross section which is constructed to have its cross section decrease inwardly from both ends s0 that it provides a tapered inner wall. of the tubing 12 are inserted, they may be forced in until they are secured against the taper within the sleeve 2l? and may be locked in position by suitable devices such The sleeve 20 is provided with a base 22 having inner and outer feet similar to the feet 18 and 19 o-f the clips and which provides a secure footing for the end connector. The plastic sheet, (not shown in FIG. 3 and 4) is placed over the connector 13 and may be held in position by clips 14 placed near the ends of the connector. The connector 13 thus securely holds the ends of the retaining wall in their required positions with minimum likelihood of their being displaced.

Another form of connector is illustrated in FIGS. 5 and 6 wherein the ends of the wall 12 are shown brought into abutting relationship with tubular inserts 24 and 25 When the ends of suitable material such as a rigid plastic inserted within Vthe ends and held n place by staples 26 and 27 driven through the ends of the tube 12 and the plastic inserts. This form of joint is particularly suited to those installations wherein the tubing 12 is bonded to the supporting surface.

In FIGS. 7 and 8 there is illustrated a corner bracket 28 which in this case has been shown as a right-angle bracket suitable for forming a rectangular area, the wall 12 being bent at right angles and the bracket 28 clamped over the turn to maintain the right-angle relationship of the two walls of the rectangle thus formed. The bracket 28 as shown in FIG. 8 is provided with outer and inner feet 29 and 30 similar to the feet 18 and 19 of the clips 14. Clamping brackets of this type may be employed for holding the walls in selected configurations and obviously may be made to provide other angles, for example a ldegree angle for a hexagonal figure.

When because of an uneven or sloping area greater depth is required over all or a portion of the skating rink, two of the wall members 12 may be mounted one on top of the other, as shown in FIG. 9, and may be bonded together by a layer of liquid latex or other suitable cement indicated at 31. In FIG. 9 the lower wall 12 has been shown sealed to a concrete or other surface 32 by a layer of latex cement 33, this being the arrangement employed when a waterproof surface is available for the assembly of the retaining wall.

The arrangement of the flexible wall for outlining the desired shape of the rink, together with the arrangement of the clips for holding the wall upright and which may also function to retain a waterproof sheet in close relationship to the wall, provides an easily assembled retaining structure; this structure assures the holding of the water in the required area during freezing and facilitates the use of a plastic sheet for forming the water reservoir in those installations where a waterproof supporting surface is not available. Furthermore, the shaping of the cross section of the Wall to provide a surface suitable for bonding to waterproof surfaces makes this retaining wall equipment readily adaptable to all types of surfaces normally available in backyards in residential areas.

While I have described my invention in connection with specific structures, various modifications and other applications will occur to those skilled in the art. Therefore I do not desire that the invention be limited to the details illustrated and described, and I intend by the appended claims to cover all modiications which fall within the spirit and scope of the invention.

I claim:

1. A portable ice skating rink or the like comprising a length of a tube-like wall member which is readily bendable and of suicient stiifness to retain its upright position when placed on a supporting surface, said member adapted to enclose `a substantially tiat area with its ends in substantially abutting relationship, a thin sheet of waterproof material having an area longer than that enclosed by the wall member whereby said sheet may be placed over the area to be used with the edges of the sheet extending over the contours of the wall member and a distance therebeyond, means for connecting the ends of said wall member comprising a sleeve having its inner walls tapered toward the center portion thereof to provide a wedging action for the ends of said wall member when inserted in said sleeve, and clamping means including two hollow portions at an angle to one another determined by the polygon to be formed for holding two adjacent sections of said wall member at said angle, said clamping means including a base having inner and outer foot portions of substantial length adapted to support the wall in an upright position and maintain a contour tit of the sheet at the angular point of joinder of the two adjacent sections.

2. A portable ice skating rink or the like comprising a length of a laterally flexible, tubular wall member fabricated of iiexible material for encircling a substantially flat area with the ends of said member in substantially abutting relationship, a thin sheet of waterproof material having an area greater than that enclosed by said wall member whereby said sheet may be placed over the area to be used with the edges of the sheet extending over the contour of the wall member and a distance therebeyond, means for connecting the ends of said wall member to complete the wall comprising a sleeve having its inner walls tapering toward the center portion thereof to provide a wedging action for the ends of said wall member when inserted in said sleeve, means for attaching the ends of said wall member to said sleeve, and a base on said sleeve for holding said sleeve and wall member upright, and clamping means shaped to closely it the contour of the sides and top of the wall member and to hold the sheet thereon at spaced intervals, said clamping means adapted to hold the sheet adjacent the surfaces of the wall over which it passes, and said clamping means having horizontally extending inner and outer foot portions adapted to hold portions of the sheet against the supporting surface and to hold the wall member in an upright position.

3. A portable ice skating rink or the like comprising a length of a laterally exible, tubular wall member fabricated of exible material for encircling a substantially tiat area with the ends of said member in substantially abutting relationship, a thin sheet of waterproof material having an area greater than that enclosed by said wall member whereby said sheet may be placed over the area to be used with the edges of the sheet extending over the contour of the wall member and a distance therebeyond, means for connecting the ends of said wall member to complete the wall, and including corner clamping means for facilitating the arrangement of said wall in the form of a polygon, each of said corner clamping means including two hollow portions at an angle to one another determined by the polygon to be formed for holding two adjacent sections of said wall member at a predetermined angle, and a base on said corner clamping means including inner and outer foot portions adapted to assist in supporting the wall member in an upright position and to maintain a contour fit of the sheet in the corners.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 482,368 Kimber Sept. 13, 1892 550,542 Smith Nov. 26, 1895 996,453 Callahan June 27, 1911 1,077,741 Neveu Nov. 4, 1913 1,472,741 Lichtenstein Nov. 6, 1923 1,740,303 Hooper Dec. 17, 1929 1,779,577 AlliX Oct. 28, 1930 2,116,426 Cecil May 3, 1938 2,498,831 Veitch Feb. 28, 1950 2,670,222 Dragon Feb. 23, 1954 2,672,356 Crockett Mar. 16, 1954 2,689,812 Mollica Sept. 2l, 1954 2,907,362 Owen Oct. 6, 1959 

